Posted by Bruce in BC [162.158.146.77] on Saturday, January 01, 2022 at 00:32:55 :
In Reply to: Re: Aluminum Radiators - FFPW posted by Steve in FH [108.162.245.183] on Friday, December 31, 2021 at 12:55:41 :
If the radiator is not rotten and the tubes are not full of gunk then it is worth the time to fix it. I have done a lot of rads - right down to removing tanks and even built a couple of custom tanks and installed a new core.
(1) clean the tube - I mean really clean the tube
(2) use liquid solder
(3) use new or clean wire solder - not some old stuff that has gone crusty
(4) heat up the tube with a propane torch and apply a little solder over the hole or split
If done right the solder will wet out and when painted the rad will look like it is stock
You may have to move the cooling fins out of the way before doing the soldering
If you have a real good pencil point soldering iron it will do the job and the fins will not get damaged.
I once did a race car tank with a cutting torch ( that was all they had) worked fine - left the bottom full of water and the level was about a 1/4 inch below the top tank plate - did a real nice job
Did I mention it needs to be clean?
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